Introduction to the Acquisition and Teaching of English
Code: 106307Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| English Studies | OB | 3 |
| English and Catalan Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and Catalan Studies | OP | 4 |
| English and Spanish Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and Spanish Studies | OP | 4 |
| English and French Studies | OP | 4 |
| English and Classics Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and Classics Studies | OP | 4 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Elisabet Pladevall Ballester
- Email :
- elisabet.pladevall@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Elisabet Pladevall Ballester
- Adriana Soto Corominas
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
A C2 level (Proficiency) from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is required. Students are advised to have passed the courses within the area of English Linguistics of first and second years.
Objectives
This subject aims at introducing students to the basic notions of the acquisition of English as a first and a second language and to the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language in contexts of instruction
Specific objectives:
- Indentify and explain the basic concepts and processes in the acquisition of English as a first language.
- Consider the characteristics of early English words and sentences.
- Understand and explain the basic concepts of the acquisition of English as a second language.
- Analyse data from the acquisition of English.
- Describe and analyse types of instruction and types of learners.
- Explain the age factor and types of learners depending on the learning context and age.
- Identify and apply teaching approaches to grammar, vocabulary, receptive and productive skills.
Learning outcomes
- Apply the knowledge and competences acquired to the analysis of problems and their resolution.
- In an effective manner, organise the autonomous component to learning.
- Express oneself in English orally and in writing in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of language acquisition and teaching.
- Produce academic written and oral texts at a higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English language acquisition, learning and teaching.
- Understand specialised academic texts on research in English language acquisition, learning and teaching.
- Identify and understand distinct theories of first-, second- and third-language acquisition.
- Analyse, interpret and evaluate theories of first-, second- and third-language acquisition in distinct contexts of acquisition.
- Analyse, interpret and evaluate English language teaching methodologies in distinct educational contexts.
- Identify and explain the individual factors that interfere in the acquisition and learning of English.
- Apply acquired concepts and methods to professional situations simulated in the classroom through problem solving and case simulation
- Analyse learning situations, identify areas for improvement and propose new methods or alternative solutions.
- Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
- Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
- Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
- Produce works in which the fundamental digital and bibliographic tools for the field of study are applied.
- Understand specialised academic texts on research in English language acquisition, learning and teaching at Mastery level (C2).
- Produce academic written and oral texts at Mastery level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English language acquisition, learning and teaching.
- Apply the concepts and methods acquired to the detection of needs specific to each discipline, and to the relevant curricular design.
- Apply the principles of correctness required by the standard language and the distinct registers and varieties for professional purposes.
- Identify the distinct stages of a didactic unit.
- Evaluate their own progress in the acquisition of knowledge of the contents of this subject.
- Detect the most common errors in non-native speakers considering their mother tongue.
- Know how to explain grammatical errors to secondary school pupils.
- Correctly identify linguistic units in the teaching of grammar.
- Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
- Apply acquired concepts and methods to professional situations simulated in the classroom through problem solving and case simulation.
- Apply the skills acquired to the teaching of grammar concepts and techniques for reading and interpreting classical texts.
- Understand specialised academic texts on research in English language acquisition, learning and teaching at higher-proficient-user level (C2).
- Produce academic written and oral texts at a higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English language acquisition, learning and teaching.
- Identify and understand distinct methodologies of English language teaching and pronunciation.
- Produce normatively correct written and oral texts.
- Plan, organise and carry out work in a team.
- Apply the knowledge and skills acquired to the analysis of problems and their resolution in a professional context.
- Express oneself orally and in writing in English in a professional register and using appropriate terminology in relation to translation, English for specific purposes and linguistic applications.
- Understand specialised academic texts (C2) on research in English language acquisition, learning and teaching.
- Produce academic written and oral texts (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English language acquisition, learning and teaching.
- Understand specialised academic texts (C2) on research in translation, English for specific purposes and language applications.
- Produce written and oral academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of translation, English for specific purposes and language applications.
- Apply the concepts and methods acquired to the translation of texts of different types and in different formats.
Contents
This course consists of two main parts: foundations of English acquisition (units 1–4) and foundations of English teaching (units 5–7).
1. L1 English development
2. L2 English development as a social language
3. L2 English development as a foreign language
4. (Topic to be decided)
5. Types of FL instruction
6. The classroom: teachers and learners
7. Teaching grammar, vocabulary, productive skills and receptive skills
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 50 | 2 | 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 36 |
| Data analysis; readings; personal study | 50 | 2 | 1, 2, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 32, 33 |
| Practical exercises | 25 | 1 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36 |
The methodology of this subject is based on lectures, practical exercises and texts to comment in class, and group work.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 1 | 35% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 21, 22, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37 |
| Exam 2 | 35% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 35, 36 |
| Assigments | 30% | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 |
Assignments 30%
Exam 1 35%
Exam 2 35%
On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
Students will obtain a “Not assessed/Not submitted” course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indiacting authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme.
This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
Reassessment
Reassessment will consist of global exam. Only students who fulfill the following conditions will be allowed to sit the reassessment exam:
- having completed at least 2/3 of the assessment items (either the two exams or the assignments and one exam).
- having a global average mark of 3,5 or more
Students cannot take the reassessment exam to improve their final mark.
Single assessment
Students who opt for this type of assessment will have to do the following on the same day:
- an test on conceptual issues (50%)
- a practical data analysis exercise from the first part of the subject (25%)
- a practical data analysis exercise from the second part of the subject (25%)
The same reassessment method as continuous assessment will be used. Students need to have completed all the assessment items.
Important note for exchange students (Erasmus, etc.) on exams and other tests: Exchange students who request to bring forward an exam or any other type of assessment activity must present the teacher with an official document from their home university justifying their request.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Ambridge, Ben, and Lieven, Elena VM (2011). Child language acquisition: Contrasting theoretical approaches. Cambridge University Press.
Cattel, Ray (2000). Children’s Language. Consensus and Controversy. Cassell.
De Graaf, Rick and Alex Housen (2009). Investigating the Effects and Effectiveness of L2 Instruction. In M. H. Long and C. Doughty (eds.) The Handbook of Language Teaching (pp. 726-755).Blackwell.
Crain, Stephen and Diane Lillo-Martin (1999). An Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition, Blackwell.
Ellis, Rod (2008). Principles of Instructed second language acquisition. CAL Digest, available at http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/instructed2ndlang.html
Hall, G. (2025). Method and Postmethod in Language Teaching. Routledge.
Herschensohn, Julia (2000). The Second Time Around. Minimalism and L2 Acquisition. John Benjamins.
Goodluck, Helen (2020). Language Acquisition by Children. A Linguistic Introduction, Edinburgh University Press.
Guasti, Maria Teresa (2004). Language Acquisition. The Growth of Grammar, Cambridge, Mass:The MIT Press. OUP.
Loewen, Shawn (2015). Introduction toInstructed Second Language Acquisition. Routledge.
Loewen, Shawn and Sato, Masatoshi (2019). Instructed Second Language Acquisition and English Language Teaching: Theory, Research, and Pedagogy. In X. Gao (ed.), Second Handbook of English Language Teaching. Springer International.
Loewen, Shawn and Sato, Masatoshi (2024). A Practical Guide to Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge University Press.
Mitchell, Rosamond, Myles, Florence and Marsden, Emma (2019). Second Language Learning Theories. Routledge.
Paradis, Johanne,Genesee, Fred and Crago, Martha B (2021). Dual language development and disorders. Brookes Publishing Company.
Pfenninger, Simone and David Singleton (2023). Second Language Acquisition and Lifelong Learning. London: Routledge.
Radford,Andrew, Martin Atkinson, David Britain, Harald Clahsen and Andrew Spencer (2009). Linguistics. An Introduction, Cambridge University Press.
Renandya, Willy. A. and Widolo, Handoyo. P. (2016). English Language Teaching Today: An Introduction. In W. A. Renandya and H. P. Widolo (Eds.) English Language Teaching Today. Linking Theory and Practice (pp. 3-12). Springer.
Richards, Jach. C. and Rodgers, Theodore. S. (2022). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Stilwell Peccei, Jean (2006). Child Language. A Resource Book for Students. Routledge.
Ur, Penny (2024). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
VanPatten, Bill, Megan Smith, Alessandro G. Benati (2020). Key Questions in Second Language Acquisition. An Introduction, Cambridge University Press.
Software
No software will be used.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |